DUBAI, U.A.E. — WNBA player Brittany Griner has been in the custody of the Russian government for several months after being convicted to 9 years for having a cannabis derivative in her luggage as she was trying to fly home to the U.S.
This morning, Griner was freed from her sentence in a Russian penal colony in a prisoner swap with the United States.
“This is a day we’ve worked toward for a long time,” said President Biden in a press conference in the oval office moments after the news of her release went public.
“We never stopped pushing for her release. It took painstaking and intense negotiations and I want to thank all the hard-working public servants across my administration who worked tirelessly to secure her release,” he said.
Biden said Griner landed on a plane from Russia to the U.A.E where she will then board a plane home to the U.S.
In exchange for Griner’s release the Russians received Viktor Bout, an international arms dealer convicted of trying to sell weapons that would eventually be used against American soldiers.
